After only two days of
Rocket League action,
FUT Esports successfully navigated the Play-In phase and have now already secured their place in the Playoffs of the
RLCS 2026 World Championship. The American roster took MENA first seed
Twisted Minds to a five game series, before decisively sweeping
Ninjas in Pyjamas in their second series of the day. They will play South American upstarts,
FURIA, today in the final series of the group stage, safe in knowledge that they have already qualified for playoffs with results going their way elsewhere.
Carlos "CHEESE." Aguado, who is making his second World Championship appearance after reaching the event last year with Gen.G Mobil1 Racing, spoke with Sheep Esports following the match against NiP. The 21-year-old reflected on the team’s recovery after their loss against Twisted Minds, learning from a collection of close defeats and the gruelling Last Chance Qualifiers the team competed in this summer.
How does it feel to bounce back after a heartbreaking series versus Twisted Minds?
Carlos "CHEESE." Aguado: “It feels great. That Twisted series we all want back obviously. Game five overtime, we’ve had it before it's heartbreaking. We knew the day wasn’t over, we knew we had to regain and fix our mental for the next series. We did just that. We had a good warmup before we played NiP and the series showed we are on that top level with a sweep over them.
Throughout your career you’ve been on the cusp of a lot of blockbuster wins, what do you think needs to change to get through the game five and game seven hump?
CHEESE: Sometimes it comes down to the smallest margins, it's so close. I honestly don’t know what we’ve got to change, we just need to get luckier on the day or secure a shot on the day. Rocket League comes down to the smallest margins. These times are heartbreaking but on the next one we’ve got this.
You’ve gone through two separate LCQs this season, it must feel like a punishment to play in those events but how does it feel to get through them?
CHEESE: Oh yeah. It feels amazing. I don’t enjoy the LCQs at all, I don’t like them at all and I don’t want to do anymore of them. They are very stressful and the thing is they are not even the main event yet, you’ve still got to play the actual event. The LCQs are not the funnest, but I do feel good making it through them.
Jstn (Justin Morales) has changed so much and he was voted Comeback Player of the Year. What is it like having an experienced player like jstn on your team?
CHEESE: He’s so fun to play with and talk to. He’s a great teammate and he grinds the game, I can’t ask for much more honestly. He slots the ball every time. When I give him a pass he slots that thing top left, top right, it doesn’t matter.
What team stood out to you in that EWC LCQ?
CHEESE: Oh, Team Stallions. They are a very good team. They gave us a great fight and I think that team could be the third best team in MENA. It was a huge fight and I have nothing but respect for those guys.”
